Page 34 of The Stranger
“Will you be travelling there tonight?”
“No. Come,” he grumbles moving across the room. “I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping tonight.”
Although my gut tells me I can trust this man not to take advantage of me, I still have no intentions of sharing a bed with him. “I’ll be fine on the couch.”
“You’ll be sleeping in one of the spare rooms, Delilah.”
I feel my cheeks heat. “Oh.”
He gives me a strange look as he leads me through the main room, past a chef-worthy kitchen, and down a long hallway.
“The room down the end of the hall is mine … it’s off-limits,” he states.
“Okay,” I squeak. He needn’t worry. I have no intention of sneaking in there in the middle of the night … or ever.
“You can choose any of these three,” he says, gesturing with his hand.
The doors are all closed, but I point to the one furthest away from his room. “This one.”
He clears his throat as he opens the door, again standing back so I can enter first. Following me into the room, he lifts the suitcase onto the bed. “You didn’t … umm … pack that, right?”
“No, your mother did. I sat in the lounge room while your father and that dick you were engaged to tried to intimidate me with their death stares.”
I wince. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. I wasn’t bothered by it.”
“My dad isn’t usually like that … he’s protective of Abigail.”
“He has two daughters, Delilah … and I’m not dating your sister. I’m dating you.”
My eyes widen as my head snaps in his direction. “We are not dating.”
“Fake dating then.”
I tip my chin. “Like I told you, I took that status down … we broke up.”
A grin tugs at the corners of his mouth as he arches one of his brows. “I don’t remember having that conversation with you, Miss St. James. You can’t claim you’ve broken up with somebody if the other party isn’t privy to that knowledge.”
Ignoring him—because his reasoning is completely insane—I lay my suitcase down and reach for the zipper. “Do you mind if I have a shower? I always feel gross after working with food all day.”
He points to the door on the far side of my bedroom. “You have your own bathroom. You should find everything you need in there.”
“Thank you. Do you … umm … have a washing machine? I only have one work shirt, so I’ll need to wash it tonight, so it’s dry by morning.”
“I have a washer and dryer, although I’ve never used them.”
“How do you wash your clothes, then? Or do you just throw them away once you’ve worn them? I guess you can afford to do that.”
He barks out a laugh. “Sandra, my housekeeper, washes my clothes.”
“You have a maid?”
“Yes, she comes during the day while I’m working.”
“Oh.”
“Have you eaten?” he asks.
